Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Apparently Alyssa Milano took time out of her tour of major league player's beds and being remembered for a sitcom that ended 16 years ago, to create a line of women's NHL clothing.[ Hockey, Football, and Stiletto Shoes ]

after hopefully making someone at the cable company cry, i read about john challis. that really is a bummer and like someone said so shocking considering how good he looked during the finals. but that's the cruelest thing about diseases, one day is so much different than the next.

About two weeks ago at work, I got put on the implementation team for a new corporate-wide business software implementation team (we're transitioning to SAP, for those who might be familiar) so the last two weeks have pretty much been hell at work, and this is going to take up like all of my time for the next two years (but at least it's job security).

What I'm trying to say is that usually by the time I get home at night and start thinking up stuff for the Countdown Motivators, my brain is in about the same state it would be if I started locking myself in my basement with an open 55-gallon drum of paint thinner noshing on peyote leaves.

If only the Pens Patrol girls could look more like Alyssa. Also, I'm not a big fan of the Baby Pens new alternate jersey...I just don't like the written text across the front, like the Dallas Stars. It's weak-ass.

I think that jibjab piece shows why the Wings are Champions. I mean, you could tell they were kinda screwing around, but still they were all business. Neither one of them smiled throughout their whole routine, even after they stuck their landing.

no flames here. The first season is a bit hard to get through. At least the first 3 episodes are. I was a big fan of the original British show and HATED what I saw of the Americanized one. Then out of no where the show picked up, the characters became likeable instead of cheap knock-offs of the British Office, the writing got smarter and funnier and now I am deeply in love with it.

its a tough show to get if you dont work in an office... if you work in an office you can relate someone on the show to a person you know in real life or things that actually happen in your office and it makes it all the more hilarious

Hey. Haven't been around. Been back in Johnstown with the girl for a little while. Anyways, I thought maybe I would bring up a jobbing opportunity for everyone.

This joke of a kid thought it would be cool to attempt to job me, the girl, and tPB by saying that knowing Kevin Nash is better than knowing tPB. For those of you who don't know, Kevin Nash is the washed up wrestler who used to go by the name of Diesel. Yeah, that pathetic. Ha ha.

I'm not in an office, but I do work in a similar environment. My test floor or even the place that I was cross-assigned to earlier this year, does have a number of individuals who each have their own personality. Not quite in the same fashion at The Office, not even close, but I've seen enough of the show to understand what you mean.Still I don't get the show. I don't know if it's the cutaways that bother me or the opinion that I find Rain* Wilson unfunny (ducks) no matter what he plays.

Sorry I've been away, but I actually got to take a vacation this year. Decided it would take me forever to catch up on posts, so I am starting anew...

@stoosh -- SAP, oh, I feel your pain...used it for a couple of years at a previous job. Will probably now have a nightmare tonight.

As to the Office, I've worked in one, but I'm not a big fan of the NBC show. Something about Steve Carrell always bugged me. I liked the original BBC version.

The baby Pens jersey is just, meh. JibJab had me crying.

Have to do some work. Looking forward to tomorrow's post. I'm amazed the staff was able to find a pay phone... I thought they were pretty much non-existant in Pittsburgh. All over the place here in Portland.

stokes: im jealous right now. NHL Network was supposed to be added to my cable package yesterday but its still not showing. when i called today the lady laughed at me and said that theres no hockey in august anyways and to be patient. obviously not a hockey fan.

Brandi: Since i am house sitting right now, i am getting the Network. We were supposed to get it at home with the FiOS, but some fucking idiot that worked at Verizon "forgot" to mark our house down and we didn't get the hook up and won't until Spetember now. Bad for me, good for the lady. She can have the TV until Sept.

I was at that game, so its cool to be able to watch it on TV. And get goosebumps with every random LET'S GO PENS! chants....

Finally, someone gets it right with the big three: Venture, Sunny, Office. I always wondered why the hell Philadelphia even existed, but now I realize it's so that they could make this hilarious show.

Speaking of Philly, FlyerHater (when is he gonna change his name to "Everything Hater", BTW) is also right: Scrubs is intolerable. I'd pay $500 to attend a ballbat party where Zach Braff is the guest of honor.

BNG: Good deal. Game One i watched drunk as hell with my dad and a bunch of friends. WHAT A GAME.

I met Mark Madden over the weekend, and while there were times where he was a egomaniac, overall, he was a pretty cool dude. But he is pretty damn fat. He also had some pretty interesting things to say...

brandi had the woman told me that i would've tracked her down and kicked her ass and reminded her that ass kicking is all year round!

and eileen, yeah, sometimes i get stuck watching scrubs on comedy central since that's all they seem to show during the day, but its like watching a car crash. you know its gonna be bad, but you're waiting for the wreckage.

and since we're opening up our tv dislikes, i don't like colbert or the daily show.

ive never even heard of the venture bros show and i couldnt stand flight of the concords. ive been looking forward to the always sunny new season even though ive never seen it before. the promos look hilarious. i agree with coffeys top 3 minus the office. scrubs is probably my favorite comedy show.

i don't think flight belongs anywhere near the top, we've only had one like. the consensus 3 would probably be (in no order) the office, sunny, and south park. why didn't we mention south park you ask? because we don't have to.

family guy will never be included either. south park hit the nail on the head with the "cartoon wars" episodes. it's a godawful show. i consider the simpsons the greatest show ever, but wouldn't even consider putting it in this list right now.

I haven't watched a Network show on a consistent basis since the last two seasons of Seinfeld. For the most part TV sucks and the sitcoms are even worse. Just watch one episode of the Big Bang Theory, if you don't throw your TV into oncoming traffic/put a knife through each eardrum then you just don't know what's going on.

Staff, yinz haven't phoned in a post yet. Pushing it a lil' bit sure, but we getcha...

Dying Alive, email me. I'll 'splain later.

Stokes...PBR? Really? I haven't had that stuff in about ten years. Summertime hockey viewing begs for some Railbender.

Stoosh's moto's speak for themselves. I was wondering what the summertime countdown would be this year after last year's obscure Penguins jersey numbers. A worthy heir.

Dan, your top three reeks of awesomeness. I've been downloading season 3 of the Venture Bros. since june.

FH is the most overrated c-blog HOF'er. Everytime I open a new post, I bet my friends 20 bucks that I won't laugh. I haven't lost any money yet...but seriously, I can sit and watch an entire Daily Show and not laugh. If that little shmuck has all the answers, why don't he run for President?

If anyone has Comcast, go to the OnDemand section and search for "Jim Krenn roast". It's the roast of DVE's Krenn with a bunch of local sports guys "roasting" him. Now everyone is horribly unfunny and it's so awkward to watch but Mike Lange roasts at one point and it's so obvious that he's completely loaded.

PBR is a classic beer that only gets better with age. I love the fact that they hang on the the Blue Ribbon that they won in 1893. Who am i kidding? Its cheap. That's the selling point

Honestly, this is the first time i have to disagree with you. While I'm not a regular viewer(so take this FWIW), butI think that the Daily Show is simply a sarcastic and satirical view of the news, first and foremost, and secondly, politics. Let's not forget, Stewart hasn't been on while anyone else has been president but Bush, so it remains to be seen whether or not he'll be an equal opportunity basher.

i love the daily show, never really got into colbert. the correspondents do need to improve. if you liked stewart and colbert's books i recommend john hodgman (the apple guy)'s book "the areas of my expertise" there are a ton of hobo names in there.

i like AC cause if you ever catch him in other interviews you realize the guy is pretty down to earth and kind of a dork (ever heard him laugh? totally nerdy). shep is a fox anchor, enough said. olbermann, wow, what an egomanical ass who always has to be on.

Re: Obama: Just like Tom Brady or even our own Sid Crosby, BO is stuffed down your throat as if he's the guy you oughta vote for just because he's suddenly the media darling. There's so much wrong with our political process it makes me want to barf(i swear its not the PBR).

In a completley unrelated, but (hopefully) hilarious note, i sharted today at work. It was uncomfortable and hilarious at the same time. Luckily, i had a spare pair of underwear-what a phrase- in my truck and could change and avoid a terrible situation. Just thought i'd share that, becuase its funny.

I would love to take a bat to Keith Olbermann. You can wrap quotes around that, put a dash after it, and put my name after it. What a grade A, level 80 douche. His know-it-all, holier than thou attitude is grating. Dude is so much of a douche that he even found a way to turn his hour cameo on the Dan Patrick show (before DP made the move to FSR) into a soapbox for his agenda against Bill O'Reilly.

i.e. (and this actually happened)

DP: We'll have Bill Self later this hour...(interrupted)KO: Speaking of Bill, did you hear what Bill O'Reilly said about me last night?

You could just hear the gasp/disgust, like "oh, now what?" in Dan Patrick's voice.

@jonnyv, the only time I can watch the daily show is when Lewis Black has a 2-3 min segment. I won't go out of my way to watch it, but if I see that he's on, I'll watch for a few.

Anderson Cooper is only 41? Geez, I thought he was in his 50s.

Chinese girl fell off the balance beam. She shouldn't worry though. By these judges' standards, she still should get a bronze.

olympicsblog:so glad that Shawn took gold. i have to admit that Nastia bothers me to no end. shes an amazing gymnast and im proud shes from the US but she seems like such a bitch. be happy that you are there and got a medal. be happy your teammate took gold and not some commie.

@Brandi: Yeah, Yahoo feels the need to suck everything I have ever enjoyed about watching the Olympics since I was young.

Nastia's my favorite. She is actually pretty good friends with Shawn. She seemed pretty content with silver and sincerely happy for Shawn. Maybe I brainwashed myself into thinking that because she trained in the same place as Carly Patterson, who was my favorite last summer Olympics.

I was at a fundraiser tonight for Jason Baird, formerly an Erie Otter who was on a tractor that blew up causing burns to 65% of his body. The Otters threw a big fundraiser to help with his medical bills by auctioning off sweet donated stuff from NYR, NJD, NYI, Pens, Pittsburgh South, etc. A lot of former Otters came back to sign autographs and take pictures including Steve Valiquette (NYR backup tender), Tim Connolly, and Mike Rupp (NJD).

But best part of the story, the Old 2-9er donated a bunch of Pens gear, including a Crosby autographed jersey that went for over $800. But the best part was he actually came to the fundraiser and bid $1500 for a Jason Baird autograph jersey to help out in a time of need. He has never met Jason Baird but wanted to help as soon as he heard of the tragic accident.

Just wanted to show Phil Bourque some love for being very classy tonight.

Makes you proud to be a hockey fan when you see so many people come together to take care of someone in need.

it seems like when nastia doesnt know the camera is on her she looks like shes going to take a club to each competitors knees ala tonya harding. then the little hissy fit she threw last night kinda threw me.

Awesome story about Bourque. He came to a fundraiser two summers ago for Hopewell Youth Baseball and was absolutely awesome mingling with the crowd, drumming up pricing on some of the stuff that was being auctioned off. I've met him a few times (he lives out this way), and he's friggin' great.

How was the rest of the benefit for Baird? I was at the Otters end of the season dinner the year they won the OHL championship and went to the Memorial Cup (2001-02 season), and he was in attendance as an Otters alum; he'd wrapped up his OHL career the year before.

Good hockey player and a hell of a nice kid from back when he used to play in Erie (he was the Otters' resident Ryan Malone-type player). He was supposedly doing the landscaping work as a side job to make some extra money during the summers because he was still playing minor pro hockey, and that's when the accident happened earlier this year.

J.s. our political process is seemingly based on whoever is a big deal at the time, not who's most qualified. al gore, the person, not the internet, would be huge right now because of all the positive press he's received in the past couple of years.

that being said, i'd rather not fault anyone for being partial to a particular candidate. If Candidate A is someone you relate to, someone that shares your values, or makes more sense for you, then, by all means, be my guest. But there are too many people who don't do the research, who don't make their own decisions when it comes to picking their candidate. That's what makes me mad.

Beav: i heard about that auction. That's awesome, dude. The Ol' 2-9er is a man among men.

It was really nice. Mrs. Baird was in attendance and she gave a very emotional speech thanking everyone for their support. Mike Rupp and Valiquette auctioned off some items including four tickets to the Pens Devils home opener, NJD friends and family tickets and a meet and greet with the devils and some pens after the game.

They told some great stories about "Bairdy" like when he jumped into the entire opposing bench during a playoff game against London that basically turned the series around. Was really really nice to see a lot of guys drop everything to help out their friend, or just someone who needed it.

Sherry Bassin ended up giving 30,000 dollars to the Baird family, which made Mrs. Baird and Jason's dad pretty emotional.

I even think one lady won the Sid autographed jersey raffle and gave it to Baird's wife which pretty much summed up the night.

@ IHK

You would have died and gone to heaven, they had a Malone autographed game used stick from game one of the Stanley Cup Finals, autographed jersey too.

beav, when stoosh posted that link awhile ago, i was hoping a c-blogger would attend. Thanks for the write up. Absolute class act by Bourque.

Stokes, that tidbit about the sharting was def. the PBR talking, eh? Sharting sux, unless it happens to someone else (or u have spare drawers handy). My first few years at IUP was a steady diet of Ramen, mac n' cheese, and Natty Ice.

Guy Germaine, the absolute worst sportscaster ever would have to be Kurt Angle, hands down. I think he lasted like two weeks on the local Fox Pittsburgh news in the early 90's, but it was memorable. His Pizza Outlet commercials made him look like an Oscar winner by comparison.

I think the political process in this country is devolving into American Idol. Except more poorly run. And Olbermann is the definition of "Smarmy"

Shawn Johnson is cute, but it looks like she has Stimpy's happy helmet on her. Maybe buried under her hair. She smiles constantly.And maybe that dude wouldn't have fallen off of the parallel bars if he didn't have one of those gay Jonas Brothers haircuts.

Oh, and Rage, almost forgot, last post I def. meant that as a compliment. Lots of c-bloggers get a little carried away in the jobbing, the good ones come back and make amends.

And am I the only one that pictures Bud Bundy and his collection of rubber women when FH talks about Milano?

haha, well the jersey was a Tampa one *gags* but the stick was well out of my poor college graduate price range. Easily over $300 with like 30 minutes left on the silent auction.

@ all

If you are going to be in Youngstown Ohio for any reason on August 24th, there is going to be a charity game benefitting Jason Baird; Ken Wregget, the old 2-9er, one of the Hanson brothers, among others will be playing.

@Beav: If I only remembered!! Dang ... a Tampa jersey? Were they trying to make me cry? *laughs* I would have easily have stolen money off of my parents, used whatever I had, stolen some of the money my brother has saved for college that doesn't go into his account(I know where he keeps it), and do anything for Malone's stuff ... I would have won either by bidding or cheating. Yes, I would stoop that far at a charity event for Malone stuff ... don't look at me that way. *laughs* JK ... or am I?

I almost stole the Sid auto jersey from the old guy who was selling tickets (like you wouldn't think about it). If i had disposable income, I would have bought that Malone stick, how often do you see a game used stick from the Stanley Cup Finals on sale?

Unfortunately, many things became quickly out of my price range but I bought little stuff like pictures for the players to sign and buttons and pretty much anything I could afford.

Best idea of the night goes to the group of girls who came in the black t-shirts that said "season tickets: x amount of dollars, nachos and beer: x amount of dollars, supporting your players in the off-season: priceless" and they had Baird's name and number on the back.

Beav, you don't see those kind of things ... see if you bought it, you could have sold it to me at a higher price and made more money ... I'm a sucker for anything Ryan Malone ... I made my Mom buy newspapers for like 2 weeks for those posters of Pens players they put in them and I knew Bugsy was coming up. Also, if there is any mention in Ryan Malone in any article, they know to buy it.

"Penguins players will report to training camp in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Sept. 16 for meetings, physicals and testing. They will hit the ice for the first time for practice on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Mellon Arena."

Less than a month away.SHOW TIME!!___

@Beav,Thanks for sharing.

___

I do like the Baby Pens Blues.............always been a sucker for dem Blues anyway.

from 2 totally different walks of life, yet truly exemplify all that is good within the human spirit.

Randy Pausch + John Challis.

RP: "time is all you have...and you may find out one day that you have less than you think"

JC: Courage + Believe = Life.

I recommend if you have a spare hour or so to watch Randy Pauschs' Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams...I watched it right after RP passed away a few weeks ago and that 76 minutes seemed as if it were 10. The final couple minutes were a serious 'reality check' and I'll admit...tears were shed.

With JC's passing today, the world lost another true pure soul.

Along with beavs account of what went on tonight [thanks for that]...maybe this planet is not in as bad a shape as some people believe [or want me to believe it is, anyway]